Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-03-18
awhat in che ID is that.
lord, what a racket"

-ioAhs VIII your!
! was like a prolonged shock of thunder
to.ins III tremendous reyerberat;ons ~
s nI u away ana faint, then nearer md
tinued crack of mnskets. 'ae con-
They're pitching it into Port Hrdsor,,.
Good for themi" Aiuoson!
.Bully! That's like the Indiana MN, I,
IN haif an hour the outburst d;ed VS..
and we slept again. 'iea away
IN .he morning. as We approached naoror
!he mes the scene grew busy and intorest.
ins. we met a continual stream of em,,tv
M.gOns gong down, and saw infantry and
artillery moving from point to ,,o;nt
1llnlPses OF the positions as we nassau an
our march to the right, where Weitzel's
command was, showed MS n tonolo of
WooIs. faNlnss, and hills. We saw batteries
Plantea mere and there. regiments Vino in
.ne noiiows, and several headquarters. each
marked Dy Its W flag. and ALWAYS sur
= by cotton-bsles for protection from
s.lay oulletS. Every piece of artillery in
R ,os was masked in the same way.
Islne-pits were dug in the reverse sides Of
'.aes n..,s, and a heavy log, pierced for mus
he,s' was lalu on top. For a half-dozen
miles, from the river above to the river
below, the besieged upon the fortified bluffs
were thus encircled; while the mortars of
the fleet. by day and night, threw great
shells among them.
AS we marched on toward our position
General Banks rode past. We we're near
enough to the enemy to mike silence desira-
pie, and cheering is always unmilitary; but
the cheer was stared, md quickly swelled
INTO q roar. 1t came near being a costly
cheer for us. White the General was &C.
A~nowledging it. a shell rushed through the
air md burst high mp. Another followed.
almost in a breath. stlising a lofty tree and
SCATTERING it midway from the ground.
Still another expl, ded not twenty feet di-
rectly over our heads. The regiment was
double-quicked into the woods, md in
dulged in no more cheering till the snrren.
der. -
We passed General Weitzels %headouar-
tiers, and saw the man hims.lf standing
outside the cotton-bale protection. His
tail figure and intelligent face We're familiar
to every man, but We thought then quite as
little as he did that this was the man who.
IN little less thai two years, would be the
hrst of the Union army to enter evacuated
Richmond.
We found the way to the part of the lines
hat we were expected to hold, took pos-
session of our rifle pits, and in the next six
weeks earned a full experience of sharp
shooting and assaulting. The scenes and
incidents of that breathless time, when the
best blood of New England, New York, In
diana, Wisconsin, and the West united in
the struggle for the heights that dominated
the Lower Mississippi, were thrilling ones.
1t was a gallant army. and held stoutly to
Its work unto the triumphant. end, while
disease and the bullet dccimated it.
The well-remembered incident that gives
this sketch its name will conclude it.
Our regiment had o been ten months
in the service, and the labors md casual
ties Of the CAMPAIGN and the trying South
ern climate had greatly reduced our num-
bers. We brought to Port Hudson not
morethan five hundred muskets. Better
or more reliable soldiers, in the main, never
wore the blue; but-as will be the case in
the best of regiments, there was here and
there a stink, q skulk, and q coward.
There was n in my company whom I was
keeping particular watch of at this time, in
my determination tt,at all who could
should share in the labors and perils of
this momentous campaign. His name was
Baker. l presume that nature made him q
coward; but he had got into O place where
he found, as many another man did, before
and after him in the war, that he had got to
come to the front. whether he liked it or
not. The first company roll-call after
reaching our lines showed that Baker was
absent. He was known to have left the
steamer with us Mt the Landing. / was pro-
yoked. but waited three or four days, think
ing he might stra ,gle in. He did not, but
around tho Landing. knew that the COM
pany were looking out to see what the Cap
tain proposed TO do about it. They soon
found out. l got the necessary authority,
borrowed q hard trotting horse from our
nearest battery neighbors, and set off one
June morning to bring the skulker back to
his duty.
My first business was, of course, to find
the road to Springfield Landing. This 1
had supposed would be an easy matter;
and l was quickly undeceived. 1 knew the
general direction, but wandered amid the
ravines and woods. 1t was difficult to get
any intelligent directions. In fact, those
of whom my inquiries were made seemed
to have little idea Of the topography of the
place. They knew their OWE position, what
regiment or battery was on the right and
left of them, and could show you the places
where it was dangerous to pass, on account
of the enemy's sharpshooters; but this
was about all.
After a while l succeeded in getting some
eXpllclt OlreCtlOnS rom u brigade mead
quarters. 1 presume my informant was
honest, aud thought he knew what he was
talking about; but he nearly succeeded in
getting me reported as either killed or cap
tured, all the same. Following his instruc-
tions, l soon struck a broad road, and was
getting over it at a gallop, when a soldier
in blue jumped out from behind a tree and
leyeled his bayonet at me, with a loud
"halt!" l pulled up sharp.
"Where are you going?" he shouted.
"To Springfield Landing. Amt this the
road?"
mo; this road goes right into Port Hud-
son. They're sending bullets and grape
down here all the time; I have to keep
behind the trees 10 be Safe"
The sharp ring of a ball passing between
US rather emphasized his statement. I
turned about and rode back.
Looking about again for the right way,
and believing l had found it, urged up
nv horse, and speedily covered three or
four miles. For about two l;ours l vent on,
and then the uncomfortable suspicion be-
set me tn 1t l WIS on the wrong load aga n.
Certainly, for an hour l had ne Their IN t
nor passed wagons, ambulancas, or SOL
diers, and these were continually passing
to and from the Landing, as we'll Us staff
officers and orderlies.